Visit by College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Florida A&M University, led by the Dean,Prof. Michael Thompson

The visit was mainly to interact with faculty and explore opportunities for collaboration in the area of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The meeting started with introductions from both sides and then a presentation by Prof. Thompson. His presentation was to mainly discuss the College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, its organization and structures, discuss the center of Health Equity as well as research and health related initiatives and to identify potential arears of research.
He gave the historical perspective of the Florida A & M University which is among 100 historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States. The focus of the college is academic excellence, research superiority and community engagement to improve health.

The College of Pharmacy is ranked 12th out of 36 pharmacy programs in the United states in receiving research grants funding  from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It has received more than $29 million in research and training grants. It is the only pharmacy program in the United states housing a fully accredited institution of Public Health and has produced the largest number of African-American PhD’s over the last 10 years. The programs they offer are Doctor of Pharmacy, Msc. Pharmaceutical Sciences (research), Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (research).

Florida A & M University uses technology in the classroom on campus and at distant campuses across the State of Florida. They also use the problem based learning (team approach) and the CARE program funding as well as the ExamSoft to ensure licensing blueprint items are being tested in the classroom.
In relation to research, research is translational and Inter-professional. The key core areas of research are Diabetes care, HIV care, Global Health Equity and Transforming lives and communities. Regarding potential areas of collaboration he sighted basic science research in oncology, pharmaceutics, medicinal chemistry, nanomedicine, molecular biology and other disciplines. Other possible areas of collaboration are in epidemiology, statistics, behavioral and other public health areas. In medication therapy management, community engagement and general health were also other areas to consider in terms of research.  He gave examples of faculty who have grants in various areas such as Dr. Karam Soliman, Dr. Carl Goodman who both have NIH funded projects. Dr. Seth Ablordeppey whose research is into a new approach into the development of novel antipsychotic drugs and Dr. Nazarius Lamango whose research is into neuroscience and Parkinson Diseases‎. 

Their commitment in community engagement is high and is in areas such as cancer including breast and lung cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and HIV research. They also provide certificate programs in Global Health, HIV management, Diabetes Management as well as student exchange and online degree programs.
In summary, Prof. Thompson said there is the opportunity to forge a strong  and sustainable relationship between FAMU and UG to include academics, research and community engagement, ensure that students at both universities work collaboratively to address and solve problems related to medical, pharmaceutical,  social and global concerns and to develop consultant and exchange programs to strengthen program wherever possible.